These worthies were forgetful of the fact that the different varieties of flat and high model, channelling deep or none at all, long waists and short waists, sound holes long, short, near or wide apart, had been well, if not exhaustively treated by the artists of the Brescian school. To assume that those refined artificers, the Amati family and their disciples, were not conversant with everything for or against the use of a flat model would be crediting them with but little mental capacity, particularly in respect of their perceptive faculties. Both Stradivari and his teacher must have been well acquainted with the different high and low modelling of Gasparo da Salo, as well as that of his pupil Maggini, and others. He must have been aware that his own most generally used model of medium elevation, with slight exceptions both ways, was anticipated by each in turn. This, by the bye, disposes of any theory that Stradivari's distinctive quality of tone resulted, as is often stated, from his adopting a different elevation to what had been in use before. It may be fairly argued that if it had been true, as some writers have stated, that the flatter the model the better and stronger is the tone, then Stradivari would have been less gifted with sound judgment than he has been hitherto credited with; some of his early modellings, 1680-90, being as flat, if not more so, than any known during his whole career. For his selection of the particular degree of rise the reasons--for there were several--are not difficult to assign:--firstly, it was in consonance with his effort at achieving the most harmonious result--artistically in his designs; the less determined rise in the arching being more agreeable with the disposition of line in the pattern that he had been settling down to--posterity has emphatically endorsed his views in this respect; secondly, having noticed that a more shallow curve in the arching was quite favourable for the exhibition of gracefulness, while it was accompanied by more strength and permanency, with less liability during time and usage to develop a stony or bumpy appearance. But while thus looking acutely forward to future eventualities in one direction, Stradivari was no less careful to avoid reducing his model too much. Knowing the soundpost would be certainly shifted occasionally, he saw in the very flat model a source of danger lurking in the difficulty of seeing and getting at the post, even with the usual appliances at the command of the professional repairer or regulator, while the sound holes would be much more liable to damage than when the sufficiently raised arching permits a fair use of the "post setter." He was also careful, while keeping the depth and width of the channelling within reasonable bounds, not to let the arching spring or commence too near the border, as the screw cramps of the repairer, especially the large sized ones used in olden times would,